Morjina, once a housemaid for S Alam, a top businessman in the country, and her husband Saddam, have now become millionaires.
Morjina Akhter, a resident of Rauti village in Dobaura upazila, Mymensingh, came from a poor family. Due to financial hardship, her father sent her to Dhaka to work as a housemaid. She got a job at the house of Saiful Alam, aka S Alam, one of the country’s most controversial businessmen. This seemed to be the turning point in Morjina’s life. With her attractive appearance and lively nature, Morjina became a close companion of S Alam and traveled with him both domestically and abroad. During this time, she married Abdus Samad from Baghber village. However, after a while, she became involved in an extramarital affair with Samad’s younger brother, Saddam. Eventually, Morjina divorced Samad and married Saddam.
Known for his cunning and shrewd nature, Saddam and Morjina developed a great understanding after their marriage. Together, they started acquiring various properties belonging to S Alam. Over the past five years, the couple amassed significant wealth. Saddam purchased expensive lands in various parts of Dobaura upazila, including 15 kathas of land in front of the Dak Bungalow and 20.32 acres of land in Shibanandkhila village under the name of a fake company. Additionally, he forcefully occupied 1.5 acres of government land and even seized a public road used by residents. He has built a large fish farm on this land.
Riyad Hasan Talukder, a resident of Shibanandkhila village, said, “Saddam had nothing before, but within five years, he has become a millionaire. He has built a huge farm on 20 acres of land here. He has also occupied government land and taken over a public road for his personal use. When we protested, he threatened us with his gang.”
Another local, Shahidul Islam, said, “Saddam and Morjina used to work in Dhaka. Suddenly, they became millionaires. Now both Saddam and Morjina work at Islami Bank’s Chittagong branch. Despite her lack of education, Morjina was given a job at Islami Bank through her connections. They have also secured jobs for many locals in exchange for money. Coming from a poor family, Morjina has now built a mansion in her village, Rauti, and owns at least 10 acres of land there. Construction of a market is also ongoing in the local area. Despite being a housemaid, she now arrives in expensive microbuses when she visits.”
Enamul Haque, a local, said, “People here now know Morjina’s house as the millionaire’s house. The couple owns at least 10 crore takas worth of assets in Dobaura alone.”
According to locals, Saddam used to ride borrowed bicycles or motorcycles to play cricket just a few years ago. Recently, he started flying from Chittagong to Dhaka on special charter flights and arriving at matches in VIP cars. Local authorities have already reclaimed 1.5 acres of his illegally occupied fish farmland in Shibanandkhila.
Dobaura Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Nishat Sharmin said, “Saddam has set up a fish farm on 20 acres of land and irregularly registered the land in his name. I have already notified higher authorities to cancel the land registration. Additionally, after Sheikh Hasina’s resignation on August 5, transactions of 2.5 crore takas were made through Morjina’s bank accounts. Investigations by the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) and the National Board of Revenue (NBR) have revealed that Morjina and her husband Saddam amassed these assets under the guise of their jobs at Islami Bank.”
Investigations have shown that as of August 27, Morjina Akhter had transactions totaling 1.84 crore takas through her account at the First Security Islami Bank’s Probortok Mor branch in Chittagong. Although large sums of money were deposited through cash and checks, most of the funds were withdrawn within a short period. Despite the millions of takas transacted, as of the latest information, Morjina Akhter’s bank account balance is just 605 takas.
Attempts to contact Saddam via phone were unsuccessful. Locals said the couple has not been seen since August 5 and are believed to be in hiding.
